June 1, 2026

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 01.06.2026, 14:26

CELEBRATION – Today is June 1st, International Children’s Day, a celebration dedicated to protecting the rights of children. At the Palace of Parliament in the Romanian capital and in major cities with mountain areas, children are invited to step into the world of mountain rescuers. They have the chance to discover the equipment and technologies used in missions, such as drones, locating systems, detectors, and state of the art medical gear, climb into Salvamont rescue vehicles, and learn how a rescue operation unfolds. Romania’s children deserve to grow up in a society that offers them safety, education, care, and the chance to follow their dreams, interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has said on the occasion of Children’s Day.

NADIA – Nadia Comăneci was celebrated on Sunday in Onești (east), her hometown, marking 50 years since the Montreal Olympics, where she earned the first perfect 10 in the history of world gymnastics. Nadia met with local residents, reunited with her former teammates, and in the evening, at the stadium, she was the main figure of the Champions’ Gala. The legendary athlete used the opportunity to signal the lack of sports infrastructure and physical education in schools, urging parents to guide their children toward practicing sports. On Saturday, the former gymnast received from the Presidency the National Order “Star of Romania” in the rank of Grand Cross, the highest distinction granted by the Romanian state to athletes.

THEATRE – British director Sir Gregory Doran received the International Shakespeare Award at the Shakespeare International Theatre Festival in Craiova (south west), an event that officially concluded on Sunday after ten days in which it transformed the city into a big stage. The distinction celebrates his remarkable contribution to promoting and reinterpreting Shakespeare’s work. Also on Sunday, two photo album books dedicated to the festival and to the history of Craiova’s theatre were launched. Emil Boroghină, the festival’s founder and current honorary president, described these ten days of theatre as “an enchanted story.”

UN – The UN Security Council is meeting today at Romania’s request, following the incident in Galați (south east), where a drone of Russian origin crashed into an apartment building and exploded, injuring two residents. Immediately after the Russian drone exploded on the apartment building in Galați, Romania initiated consultations at the UN and requested a meeting of the Security Council, based on Articles 34 and 35 of the UN Charter, which regulate the Council’s role in situations that threaten the maintenance of international peace and security, announced Romania’s ambassador to the UN, Cornel Feruță, on a social network. He stated that Romania’s request was supported by partners and allies. “The intrusion of the drone and its explosion in a densely populated area, which resulted in Romanian citizens being injured, are serious violations of the UN Charter and international law. The special session will take place with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Țoiu,” the same source added.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (world No. 18) will face Russian player Mirra Andreeva, world No. 8, on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. It will be a clash of generations, between Cîrstea, age 36, and Andreeva, age 19, France Presse notes. The Romanian, who is in her final season on the professional circuit, previously reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2009. Andreeva defeated Cîrstea in their only WTA Tour meeting, in April, on the clay of the WTA 500 tournament in Linz (Austria), which she went on to win a few days later.

SALARY – Consultations on the draft of the new salary law, which will directly affect more than one million public sector employees, resume this week at the Ministry of Labor. Last week’s discussions revealed hundreds of issues and grievances from the unions. “It is an almost impossible mission to carry out, under the current budgetary conditions, a salary reform that is fair for everyone,” said the interim Minister of Labor, Dragoș Pîslaru, in an interview with the public TV station TVR. Minister Pîslaru has been tasked with negotiating in Brussels the freezing or staggering of salary increases for dignitaries until 2031. If the law is not adopted by August 31, Romania will lose nearly 800 million euros from the PNRR. (EE)